Monday 16^th March 2015 – Day at Sea.

It is still Nesta’s birthday in the UK so we skyped and managed to talk to Dave on top of a mountain in France (he’s on a skiing holiday) and the girls in Bristol – great!

We had a quiet day, as the lectures didn’t interest us, with just the choir rehearsal to keep us amused. Cyclone Pam seems to have absolutely devastated Vanuatu and although we aren’t very near it, its aftermath continues to affect us. After Picton tomorrow the plan is to sail to Wellington overnight but at our cocktail party tonight the Captain implied that we may not be able to get there. Apparently the entrance to the harbour is quite shallow with only one and a half metres below our hull. Normally this is ok but if there is a swell then it could be too dangerous. He won’t know until Wednesday morning – so, fingers crossed!

 

Tuesday 17^th March 2015 – Picton, New Zealand.

As a replacement for the still earthquake damaged city of Christchurch, we weren’t expecting much from Picton. We looked it up on Google and found it is a small commercial port with 3000 inhabitants, no bus service and only one train a day! It does, however, have a ferry to Wellington and as such is the “gateway to South Island”!

Well – it is lovely! A pretty little town with stunning views, good “local” shops, and lots of walks available plus enough free Wi-Fi to read and update all of our e-mails! We walked out to Bobs Bay – but couldn’t find him! – And it was warm, dry and sunny! We took loads of photos and spent a good five hours in the town before we got back on the ship.

In the evening there was a concert by Catherine Shepherd, our choir mistress, in the Winter Gardens. It was packed and Catherine, who has a fantastic voice, sang songs from musicals that meant something to her personally. It was very popular and she actually got a standing ovation!

After that it was off to Kings Court for a bite to eat and then down to the Queens Room for a pint and to watch the dancers celebrating St Patricks Day with a selection of “Irish” dancing! Didn’t stay too long…before it was off to bed to see what tomorrow brings.